The Girl With The Violet Hair
by PiaNoir
Summary: Read. And You Will Know. Several Genres Hurt/Comfort/Family/Romance/Adventure/Drama etc.
1. The Reunion

**Hey Guys. We are back with another story. The same procedure as by every story. I written the story in German and MissParkerFan translated it into English. We hope you like it. It was a idea of the two of us.**

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><p><strong>The Girl With The Violet Hair<strong>

_Chapter 1: The Reunion _

Zhalia and Dante were standing in Dante's kitchen and were drinking coffee. It was early in the morning. The rising sun was shining through the window. It would be a beautiful day. Zhalia wore hot pants and Dante's black sweater, that reached to her thighs. Dante wore his typical plaid boxer shorts and stood in front of the young woman. Zhalia was leaning against the kitchen counter and looked up at Dante. He was at least a head taller than her. Her blue hair fell into her face. Dante's red-brown hair was disheveled. Slowly he leaned down to her and kissed her.

"I love you." he whispered softly. Zhalia smiled. "I love you too." She put her cup of coffee on the counter and wrapped her arms and legs around Dante's body. He was holding her tight. They kissed passionately. Dante sat Zhalia down on the counter, but her legs were still around his waist.

"What do we have to do, yet?" Dante asked, looking deeply into her eyes.

"The table decoration is secured, the invitations are sent, the dress fits." listed Zhalia, "I would say we have everything." she began to smile and kissed him again.

"I think you forgot something." Dante said. Zhalia looked at him interrogative. What did he mean?

"Sophie's tradition, she is determined to put through?" Zhalia moaned loudly and jumped off the counter. Then she ran to the fruit bowl and took out an apple.

"It's just for one night." she replied, biting into the apple.

"Right. One night. One night I can not be with you." Dante replied and walked towards her. Zhalia smiled. "You know that Sophie will get a heart attack if we are abusing her tradition?" Zhalia replied with a grin. Dante grinned, too. "It's just for one night." said Zhalia and looked deep into Dante's eyes. "All right. Then I have get through one night without sex." he replied, grinning. Zhalia bat him, monitory but grinning, against his arm. Then he grabbed her arm, pulled her towards him and held her tightly. Zhalia tried to free herself from his grasp, but she couldn't. Laughing, the two stumbled into the living room.

_5 hours later _

That night Zhalia slept at Sophie's house. Sophie absolutely wanted Dante and Zhalia to accomplish this old Casterwill-tradition. This said, that every bride and groom weren't allowed to see the night before their wedding. It should bring good luck for the future. At first Dante and Zhalia were skeptic about it, but Sophie annoyed them for so long, that Zhalia and Dante finally agreed. Zhalia was just sorting her stuff into the wardrobe in the guest room, when Sophie came into the room with a tablet.

"A cappuccino for the yet free woman." she said and put the tablet on the table beside the large windows. She handed Zhalia a cup of cappuccino and she accepted gratefully.

"To you and your freedom. Enjoy it as long as you can." said Sophie, taking a sip. Zhalia did the same.

"Can you believe that, I mean, tomorrow at this time I'm married. This is incredible." Zhalia said and took a big gulp. Sophie smiled. She was happy for them. They had found each other and that would be celebrated tomorrow.

"Can I see your wedding dress again?" asked Sophie. She was besotted to this dress. It was so beautiful. A strapless dress, which was cut close to the waist and from there it fell apart. A green ribbon in the middle freshened the whole thing. Zhalia put the cup down and went to her suitcase. Suddenly she remembered that she had left the dress in Dante's house.

"Damn." she swore.

"What?", Sophie wanted to know and was already her site.

"I left the dress at home." she said. "I'll go get it quickly." Zhalia ran from the room and went on her way.

"Hurry up." cried Sophie. Zhalia waved to her without turning around and disappeared at the next corner.

Then ten minutes later she arrived at home, she desperately hoped to meet Dante. She went up the stairs to the door and unlocked it. Zhalia went inside and closed the door behind her.

"Dante," she cried and put the key on the small table next to the door. He didn't answer. Apparently he was not at home. Zhalia went on. But at the stairs, she stopped. Dante's jacket was lying there. A few steps further, she found a pink top that wasn't hers. Zhalia frowned. At the end of the stairs lay a bra that also does not belong to her. Zhalia had a terrible assumption. She went to the bedroom door. Full of fear what will expecting her, she opened the door. She could not believe what she saw. Dante and another woman naked in her bed. It was like a bad dream. Zhalia stood there rooted. She just could not believe he did something like that to her. What had she done to deserve this? Dante suddenly noticed that someone was standing in the door. When he saw who it was he stopped his act. He was shocked He saw Zhalia standing there with tears in her eyes. She stared at them.

"Zhalia." said Dante full of shock and shame. But Zhalia shook her head. She wanted to get away. Away from everything. She turned around quickly and ran down the stairs.

"Zhalia, wait!" Dante jumped out of bed and moved to his trousers as fast as he could, then he followed her. Zhalia just wanted to go out of the house but Dante reached her and grabbed her arm. Zhalia turned around.

"Let me explain," said Dante and held her. Zhalia was trying to free herself.

"Explain? There is nothing to explain! You are fucking another woman, even though we wanted to get married tomorrow." she shouted at him.

"No. Yes." Dante didn't know what to say, he was so sorry for the whole situation and regretted his act, but that was no longer interesting for Zhalia. She shook her head.

"It's over." she said and tore herself away from him. She pulled the engagement ring off her finger and threw it to the ground, then she ran away with tears in her eyes. She wanted to get away from Dante and Venice as far as possible.

_2 years and 6 months later _

_Dante stood in a room he didn't knew. It was big and cold. There weren't many things in the room. A bay that looked like a bed. A small bowl with water. In the corner there was a large pile of straw and the door was hung with a bed sheet. Next to him stood a dark figure. He could not recognize who it was. Everything was so blurry. He could only identify a little child. A little girl looking at him from behind the sheet. She had dark violet hair and a light skin. Her brown eyes seemed to look right through him. The dark figure next to him went to the child and accompanied her out. Dante was alone. Again._

Dante suddenly opened his eyes. Completely drenched in sweat, he straightened up. He ran through his reddish-brown hair and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had this dream for more than 3 weeks. At the beginning he had only seen the child and how it was looking at him. But now more and more things appeared in the dream. But every night he saw this little girl. As she looked at him. She looked so innocent. Dante finally wanted to know what that dream meant. He got up and went into the bathroom. He undressed and got into the shower. Again and again he had to think about the girl. She had him hooked. She chased him. When he had finished showering, he went into the kitchen and made himself a coffee. On the counter beside the coffee machine was a picture of him and Zhalia. He took it in hand. It was now past 2 years and 6 months after Zhalia had left him. He still regretted what he had done to her. He still loved her. Dante had not seen her since their dispute and never again heard anything about her. He put the photo back and poured the coffee into his cup. He went into the living room and sat on the couch. Dante was no longer the same since he had cheated Zhalia. After Zhalia had solved the engagement he began to weaken. His concentration diminished. The Foundation quickly realized this and gave him less and less missions. Lok and Sophie were still holding him, although they were very rude for his act stupid. Nevertheless, they were his friends and did not let him fall. Dante took a sip of his coffee when suddenly the doorbell rang. He wondered who was visit him at this time. Dante stood up and opened the door. To his great joy Metz stood before him.

"Metz, what are you doing here?" asked Dante pleased.

"Hello Dante. Can I come in, please?"

"Of course." he said and let his old friend and mentor in. "Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"No thanks. I need to talk to you." Metz said and sat down on the sofa.

"What is it?" Dante sat down, too.

"I have a mission for you." announced Metz.

"A mission?"

"Hmm ... Go to Ethiopia and protect the stone from Amsar."

"The stone of what?" asked Dante and took a sip of his coffee.

"In Ethiopia lives a small nation." Metz began, "This nation owns a precious treasure. The stone of Amsar. We heard rumors that the stone is threatened. The blood spiral is trying to get it. I want you, Sophie and Lok to protect the stone. "

Dante nodded. He was not sure if he was really able to protect the stone. Since Zhalia was gone his self-doubts have grown stronger. And then there was this dream that made him sorrowful. Metz looked at Dante. He eyed him from top to bottom. He looked bad. Sad, tired and confused.

"What's wrong with you Dante?" Metz asked after a while and leaned forward. Dante looked up at him and sighed.

"It is because of this dream." Dante replied.

"The dream about the little girl?"

"Yes. I have a feeling that she needs my help. It's like she tries to tell me something. But I don't know what." Dante said and sighed again. Metz frowned.

"I just think that you are restless. Since Zhalia left you were on no mission and are just hiding in your house." Metz stood up and walked to the door.

"So, do you accept the mission or do you accept the mission? You have no choice anyway, because I'll force you to this mission. So?" Metz was waiting for Dante's answer, but Dante was quiet. "Well, then the hard way." Metz said and opened the door, "Today at 16 o'clock your flight goes to Ethiopia. Be on time or I'll pick you up personally!" With these words Metz went out of the house and left Dante. He stood up unwilling and went into his bedroom. He had to pack.

_6 hours later_

Dante was at the terminal and waited for Lok and Sophie. He was wearing his typical brown coat and his green sunglasses. He had his backpack over one shoulder and looked to the ground. Dante did not want this mission. He did not want to be professional. He did not converse with locals and have a good mood. He would much prefer to continue hiding in his house and would only go out for shopping. But unfortunately he was forced to. He heard Lok and Sophie ran to him. Sophie had two suitcase. Lok was in front of her. He had only a suitcase and wearing his blue jeans and white shirt.

"Hey Dante." He shouted at him and raised his hand. Dante raised his hand, too. The two stopped before him. They had become something taller. Lok had already been far more muscle than he did two years ago. Sophie looked much more feminine. She doesn't wore skirts instead an elegant jeans and a beige blouse. Sophie puts the suitcases down and hugged Dante.

"Hello Dante. How are you? "She asked.

"Pretty good so far." Said Dante with an expressionless glance. Lok and Sophie had noticed for some time that Dante was not the same. He hardly laughed, was frequently on the sofa and tried to be as little as possible to come among people. They were happy that Metz had forced Dante to this mission.

"When is our flight?" Asked Lok and looked at Sophie.

"In 10 minutes." She said as she looked at the clock, "We should hurry." Lok and Dante nodded. Sophie took her suitcases and went along with her friends on the way to the plane.

_2 hours later_

Lok and Sophie sat behind Dante. Lok was asleep after the start. Sophie had taken the opportunity to find something out about the stone of Amsar. She often looked up from her book and noticed that Dante was restless. Again and again he shifted in his seat back and forth. Sophie decided to talk to him. She stood up and sat next to Dante. He looked at her confused.

"What's wrong with you Dante?" Sophie asked as she looked at him. He seemed tired and thoughtful.

"Nothing should be what?" Said Dante scarce. He did not tell Sophie about the dream. Only Metz knew of it until now and it should remain so.

"Not lie to me. I notice that something is wrong. " said Sophie and looked at him.

"There is nothing Sophie." Dante said a little louder and angrier. "And if you do not mind, I would now like to sleep a little. Thank you. "He turned around and closed his eyes.

"Whatever." Said Sophie, and went back to her old place.

_5 hours later_

After a very long flight and a tiring journey through half of Ethiopia Dante, Lok and Sophie had arrived in the small town. There were not many people and therefore little houses. They were built of clay and wood, in front of the doors and windows were old blankets. It looked very run down. The three could not believe that in a place like this there should be a particularly artifact. Lok and Sophie looked shocked at each other.

"I think we are wrong here." Lok said and looked around. Sophie also had the feeling of not being in the right place. Dante looked at them.

"Now you have not. Here almost all the places look like this. "He said and turned back. He slowly walked forward, when he noticed that someone came running towards them. It was an elderly man he was in a crouched position and had grayish hair. His clothing consisted of old towels and blankets. He stood in front of Dante and smiled at him. He was at least a head shorter than Dante.

"Hello. How can I help you? "He asked kindly.

"Hello. My name is Dante Vale and these are my friends Sophie and Casterwill Lok Lambert." Dante introduced his friends. "We have been sent here by the Foundation to protect the stone of Amsar" Dante said and noticed that the glance of the man had changed. He was unsettled, even become fearful.

"I will announce their arrival. Please wait here. "Said the old man and disappeared. Dante turned around and looked questioningly at Lok and Sophie. The two just shrugged their shoulders.

It took less than ten minutes to the old man came back. He remained standing completely out of breath before Dante. He looked at him expectantly.

"I just regret that announce," he took a deep breath, "but you are arrested."

Lightning quick guards with sharp weapons came running up to the team and held them tight. Dante, Lok and Sophie look at the man with a questioning look. The residents had already been erected around them and kept them from running away.

"Let me go," said Sophie, trying to break free, but without success. Lok and Dante also tried to free themself unsuccessfully from the grip of the guards.

"What is this? Why did you arrest us. "Dante asked angrily. They wanted nothing evil. They wanted to help these people.

"Because ...", began the old man, but was interrupted by someone else.

"Because it's our job, to protect the stone of thieves and protect against the blood spiral." A voice sounded out from the crowd. Dante's eyes widened as it sounded. This voice was so familiar, like no other. He glanced in the direction from which it came. People have already made space for the person to whom this voice belonged. And then what Dante saw let his blood run cold.

"That's impossible." Dante said quietly. Even Lok and Sophie could not believe their eyes.

"Hello Dante." said the person with a devilish smile.

_Zhalia._

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><p><strong>PiaNoir and MissParkerFan<strong>


	2. Reality

**Hey Guys! Some of you said that Dante was out of character. It's true and it could be that it happened in future chapters, too. Sorry. But I also think that everyone can cheat his/her girlfriend or boyfriend. Everybody (equal with character he or she have) have it oneself to do such things. It's my opinion. **

**But please read and review. And sorry for the mistakes. **

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><p><em>Chapter 2: Reality <em>

Dante looked at her. He could not believe that she stood in front of him. The woman he wanted to marry. The woman he had cheated. The woman he had not seen for more than two years. It was Zhalia. She was the only one who wore normal clothes. A black and white jacket, jeans and boots. Her blue hair was open and around her neck was hanging an amulet. She was beautiful. Dante could not take his eyes off her. Zhalia went up to him and looked at him seriously. Her smile was gone.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at him. Her eyes were cold and emotionless.

"Protect the stone of Amsar." He replied, trying to stay just as cold. Zhalia examined him and then glanced over his shoulder. Lok and Sophie stood there and watched hopefully at their former friend.

"Zhalia, I bet you, we can talk like normal people." Sophie said, looking at her intently. Zhalia averted her gaze from the two and turned to the residents of the village. She went to a young man. He was about to Zhalias age maybe a little older. He had black hair and dark skin. He was tall and muscular, and wore a gown of red cloth. On the side hung a knife. Zhalia looked at him.

"Do you believe them?" She asked as she turned back to Dante. He looked at her angrily. He could not believe that she withdrew such a show. He kept trying to get free. It did not work.

"No, absolutely not." The man replied Zhalia began to smile.

"Well, I do not." She said, turning to one of the guards. "Take our guest in the dungeon." So she left the crowd, but Dante stopped her.

"Zhalia," he said. The young woman turned to him and looked at him.

"What's that?" He asked as he tried again to get free.

"Pure precautions." She replied with a devilish smile and disappeared. The team was shocked. Zhalia made them to her enemies. They understood the world anymore. Dante looked after Zhalia. Why did she do it? Was she the real Zhalia? Was she still mad at him? Why did she imprison their friends? Dante was totally confused. He did not understood Zhalia.

The guards brought Lok, Sophie and him in a kind of cage. It was outside the village and was quite large. They locked the three and walked back to the village.

"What was that for, please?" Sophie asked confused and looked at Lok and Dante. Lok shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know. Maybe she has her menstruation. "Sophie struck his arm. "Stop it! That's not funny. "

"Ouch! What? It could be." Lok said, rubbing his arm. Sophie moaned angrily about Loks comments, when she noticed that Dante stared in the direction of the village. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything okey?" She asked while she looked at him. Dante turned to her and shook her head.

"Everything okey? You ask me seriously, if everything is okey? "Asked Dante applied. Sophie took the hand from his shoulder and went back one step.

"I can not help it," she said. "Besides, you were the one who has cheated Zhalia and not me." Sophie said with a louder voice. That was too much. Dante had enough, that he always heard, what was he a bad man.

"Stop it! It's enough! I'm tired of you saying that I'm an asshole! I know I've made a mistake and that it was not right! But I do not want you to keep saying that ever and ever! "Dante shouted at Sophie. She noticed that she should not have said it. For now, Lok and Sophie noticed clear that Dante was still in love with Zhalia and that it tore him up what he had done to her.

"I'm sorry, Dante. I should have known that you do not want to do this. "Sophie said, placing her hand on his shoulder again. She felt sorry for this whole situation. She knew that Dante did it hurt that Zhalia treated him like a prisoner. She knew that he was depressed by anything.

"It's okay." Dante said and turned his back to the village. He looked at Lok and Sophie. Lok was sitting on the floor and looked at his mentor. Dante fell down. Sophie also sat on the floor. They were desperate. They had not thought the whole thing. They had hoped the people would respond with understanding and thank them that they wanted to protect the stone. But this was not the case.

"And what do we do now?" Lok said after some time.

"How about: try to get out," Sophie said sarcastically.

"How?" Lok looked at Sophie with an quizzically glance. He could saw that she didn't knew it, too.

_3 hours later _

It was late in the afternoon. Lok, Sophie and Dante sat in their cell and stared into the distance. Lok was lying on his back. The sun shone on his face exactly. He felt as if burnt. He did not want to lie around and do nothing. It was all too much. Suddenly he jumped up.

"I can not go," he cried. Sophie and Dante looked at him shocked. Lok ran to the steel door and jumped against it. He fell to the ground and rubbing his arm.

"Then, just different." He said. "Touchram!" Lok fired the spell at the door, but the spells bounced off and flew towards him. Lok was thrown against the opposite wall.

"Do you really think Zhalia is that stupid?" Asked Sophie. Lok looked at her quizzically. "I think you've really thought Zhalia would not have covered the cage with a kind of magic?"

Lok shrugged his shoulders and sat down. Sophie looked at him and then let her gaze wander to Dante. He looked towards the village. Nevertheless, he noted that Sophie looked at him. He knew what she wanted to ask and answer.

"I'll go to her and try talking to her." He turned to Sophie. "How do you want to do?" She asked.

"You see, the two men back there?" Dante pointed with his head on two guards who were standing not far from her cage and patrolling.

"Yes, but ...", Sophie wanted to argue, as she was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang. Lok, Dante and Sophie were on their feet and looked in the direction from which the blast had come. It came from the village. The three saw a black cloud rose in the sky and heard someone shouting.

"Oh my God. What was that? "Asked Sophie. Dante looked around and noticed that he had to act.

"Hey," he shouted in the direction of the guards. "Dante, what are you doing?" Sophie asked confused. But he did not answer her, instead he tried to approach one of the men what was successful. Some time later, a tall, dark man stood before him. "What do you want?" He asked seriously.

"What is there?" Dante asked, pointing in the direction from which the smoke rose came. The guard looked in the direction and then looked back to Dante.

"An attack of blood spiral." He said seriously.

"WHAT?" Dante, Lok and Sophie shouted in unison. The man looked at them confused.

"Let me out! I can help you. "Commanded Dante.

"No, I do not have the permissi...", the man couldn't finish the sentence because he was interrupted by another bang. They winced at the force of the blast. The guard looked startled backwards.

"Please." he heard Dante begging and turned back to face him. He knew it was forbidden to him to let the prisoners from the dungeon, but he also knew that his family and friends needed help.

"Okay, but the other two stay here," he said, pointing to Lok and Sophie. "If you're afraid to run away, they must suffer the consequences." Dante nodded. The guard unlocked the door and Dante ran towards the village. He had to find Zhalia. He had to talk to her. And he had to stop the blood spiral. Dante ran as fast as he could when he was just before the large square, from where the smoke came, he stopped and watched the situation. Zhalia faced Rassimov. Her clothes were torn, apparently by the explosion. Behind her was a house on fire. The fountain in the middle of the market, was destroyed. The residents had gathered in the square. Dante noticed that Rassimov was angry. Dante saw a magic appeared in his hand and he raised his hand. He wanted to hurt Zhalia. Without thinking, Dante ran up.

"NO!" He screamed as he stayed before Zhalia and blocked Rassimovs fist with his bare hand. Dante pushed Rassimovs hand away and looked at him angrily.

"Well, look at a time." Rassimov said, grinning. "Whom have we here? If that's not my good old Dante! "

"Get off Rassimov." Dante hissed at him.

"As you wish." Rassimov said with a grin, jumped together with Wind and Shauna on his dragon and disappeared. It was perfectly calm on the court. Nobody said anything. Dante looked around. Some villagers shook their heads and looked at him angrily. Questioning, he turned to Zhalia, but she shook her head, too.

"What have you done?", she said sad and angry, but gave him no chance to answered, but ran to her hut. Dante was following her.

"What have I done?" He asked, "I saved your life." He replied. But Zhalia ran faster and disappeared into her hut. Dante also entered the room. He was big and cold. On one side was a kind of bed and into the corner was a large pile of straw. Before windows and doors were hung old blankets.

"Zhalia, what's your problem?" He asked.

"My problem? My problem is that you come here and think you are able to fix anything. "She screamed at him.

"Are you nuts? I'll help you. "

"We needn't help?"

"Yes, that I've just seen." He said angrily. "He would have burned the whole village, if I had not stopped him!"

"Why do you think actually having to always play the hero?"

"I do not want to play the hero. I just want to help you. Now trust me. "He was getting louder.

"I should trust you?" Shouted Zhalia. "I can not trust!" Suddenly the two heard a whimper. They turned to the door. There was a little girl. She had dark violet hair and a light skin. She looked at Dante with her brown eyes. He also stared at her. He could not believe that she stood before him. The little girl from his dream. She was here, right in front of him.

Zhalia walked towards the girl.

"Go out. I'm coming. "She said to her and the little girl disappeared. Zhalia turned again to Dante.

"Get Lok and Sophie, and get out of here. Before you make everything worse. "Zhalia also disappeared from the room. Dante was alone. Again.

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><p><strong>PiaNoir and MissParkerFan <strong>


	3. Who is that girl?

_Chapter 3: Who is that girl? _

Dante stood rooted in the big room. He had just met the girl that had followed him in his dreams for more than 3 weeks. Her small brown eyes were staring at him. Her look was so captivating. Her violet hair had a beautiful gloss. Everything he could think about was this girl. He wanted to know who she was and why he dreamed of her. Could it be that she had anything to do with the stone? What had Zhalia to do with that? Dante knew that he couldn't just leave now. He had to find out who this girl was. Like in trance, he left the hut and went on his way to Lok and Sophie, who were still caged. The guard stood in front of the cage and made sure that they wouldn't run away. When he saw that Dante came on to them, he opened the cage and let the two out.

"What?" asked Lok and looked at the man.

"Command of Miss Moon." he replied curtly. Jacques, that was the young man's name, had been instructed to let them go when Dante came back. Zhalia had sent a boy over to Jacques to convey him this message. Lok and Sophie ran to Dante. They stopped in front of him.

"Dante, what does that mean?" Sophie asked, looking quizzically at her mentor.

"Zhalia wants us to leave the village as quickly as possible." Dante said, looking at Lok and Sophie. The two were shocked. They did not recognize Zhalia. She had totally changed. They did not understand why she didn't wanted their help.

"And what are we going to do now?" asked Sophie.

"Let's discuss this somewhere else." Dante said and went to the cage to get his backpack. Sophie and Lok did the same. The three left the village. They walked until they came to a good place to pitch their tents. When they had done this, they made a fire and sat down together.

"Okay, what's your plan?" asked Lok Dante and poked around in the fire. Dante sat up and looked around again. He wanted to make sure that no one had followed them.

"Zhalia wanted us to leave the village. We have done that." Lok and Sophie nodded. "We will continue to take care about the stone and try to protect it." They nodded again. "At first I will go back to the village tomorrow and make sure that the blood spiral won't attack them again."

"But how are you going to do that? I mean, they will recognize you, right?" said Lok. Sophie rolled her eyes. Dante began to grin.

"What?" said Lok applied.

"Of course I will disguise myself." Dante said. He looked into the fire. Tomorrow he wanted to find out about the little girl. But now he had to sleep. The day had been exhausting and he had to be fit tomorrow.

_9 hours later _

Dante had wrapped himself in old blankets and had made his way to the village early in the morning. Many villagers were already on their feet. Dante didn't attracked attention with his disguise. He was hiding in an alley near the market and looked for references about the girl with the violet hair. Even that night he had dreamed of her but this dream was different. The little girl was sitting in a prison and looked at him. Her eyes were red because of the tears. She looked tired and very sad. Dante himself was standing in front of the girl. He looked at her quizzically. He wanted to know why she was crying. She lifted her arm and pointed behind him. Dante turned around and saw a dead body lying on the cold floor. It was Zhalia.

Dante woke up perspiring because of this dream. It was a nightmare for him. It had been 6 o'clock, when he woke up. But Dante knew that he could not fall asleep again. And now he sat in an alley of the village, dressed in towels and blankets and tried to find out something about the girl.

Suddenly he heard the sound of boots on the asphalt. He knew it was Zhalia. She was the only person wearing boots in this village. And he was right. She ran past him and went on the market. He watched her. Dante watched her disappearing into a large building, which stood in the middle of the market. It was probably a kind of town hall. Dante did not wait for long and ran in the direction Zhalia came from. He went to Zhalias hut, hoping there may be a clue to find the girl. But he did not come this far. She was playing with another child in front of the hut. The two were apparently of the same age. An older woman, perhaps around fifty, took care of them. It was probably a kind of kindergarden and the two were apparently the only two children. He stood away from them and just watched them. Dante appreciated the girl to be 2 years old. She was about 1,05 m tall. She could walk but fell to the ground more often. He watched her for a while. She was lively and hyper. She had a cute smile. Dante smiled. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Frightened, he turned around and saw Zhalia, who looked at him angrily. She pulled him behind a house. She pushed him against the wall and tore his hood from his head.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him. "Wasn't I clear enough when I said you should disappear?" She was angry. Dante grabbed her arm and turned around with her. Now she was pressed against the wall.

„Listen." he said. "This girl with the violet hair is following me now for more than 3 weeks in my dreams. And finally I want to know who she is and why I dream about her. Do you understand?" Zhalia looked at him with narrowed eyes. He felt her hot skin against his face. He looked to her lips. They looked so soft. Dante had the deep urge to kiss her and held her in his arms till she forgive him. But Zhalia brought him back to the reality.

"Let me go!" she hissed at him. Dante broke his grip. Zhalia looked at him and took a deep breath.

"She is the daughter of a wanderer. He came here a few weeks ago. He died in an attack of the blood spiral." Zhalia said. Dante looked at her. She looked down. Something in him didn't let him believe this story. But he nodded understandingly.

"Now go." Zhalia said without looking at him and disappeared in the direction the girl was. Dante watched her. But against his will he turned into the other direction and went back to the camp. He ran very slowly. A thousand thoughts swirling through his head. They confused him. He did not know what he should believe. His instinct told him not to listen to Zhalia. But why would she lie to him? She wouldn't get something from it. Why does she made such a mystery of that girl? When he arrived at the camp it was already dawn. He felt as if he had been walking for sixteen hours. Lok and Sophie had been worried. They thought that something happened. He plopped down in the sand.

"What happened?" Sophie asked, sitting down beside him. Dante shook his head. He didn't wanted talk about it. Suddenly they heard shouts. Lok, Sophie and Dante looked to the direction from where the screams came. It was Jacques. He ran towards them. Dante and Sophie jumped up. Jacques was completely out of breath when he reached them.

"Quick ... you ... you ...", he tried to get some air. "... You have to come. ... The blood spiral has attacked our village ..." Sophie, Lok and Dante stared at Jacques in disbelief. They ran as fast as they could to the village. When they arrived at the market, they had to fight through the crowd to get to the middle of the square. There were Zhalia and Rassimov. He held the little girl on his arms. She screamed and tried to break free from Rassimovs grip. But it didn't worked. Zhalia stood a few steps away from Rassimov. She had tears in her eyes.

"You can't do this, Rassimov." she screamed at him and tried to reach the hand of the girl but Rassimov always pulled her away.

"If Vale hadn't act so stupid yesterday I wouldn't have to do this now." Rassimov said and jumped on his dragon.

"Rassimov! NO." shouted Zhalia in tears and collapsed. Dante couldn't explain why but for some reason he could just stand there and watch. When Rassimov had disappeared he ran to her and wanted to help her up but she just pushed him away.

"Leave me alone!" she hissed, standing up by herself. Then she made her way through the crowd and ran back to her hut. Dante was following her.

"Zhalia." he shouted. "Stay."

"If you wouldn't be here they wouldn't have taken her." she shouted at him while she ran.

"What did I do? What is that supposed to mean? Now stay!" Dante grabbed Zhalia's shoulder and she turned around with tears in her eyes.

"What is that suppoed to mean?" she asked, her voice full of hatred. "Damn, Dante. Rassimov kidnapped your DAUGHTER! "

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><p><strong>Unexpected? We hope so!<strong>

**PiaNoir and MissParkerFan **


	4. Violet

_Chapter 4: Violet _

Dante stood there rooted. He could not believe what Zhalia had just said. His daughter? Rassimov has kidnapped _his_ daughter? That was impossible. He looked at Zhalia, who stood in front of him with tears on her face. He knew that she was telling the truth. But it was still a shock for him. This little girl was his daughter. He had a daughter with Zhalia and knew nothing about it. This was too much for him. Zhalia turned away from him and went into her hut. Dante was following her. Zhalia had to explain some things to him. Lok and Sophie followed the two as well. They had heard everything and they could not believe that Dante and Zhalia were parents and had a young daughter. Zhalia stood weeping beside her bed and packed up her things. She had to save her daughter. Dante walked up to her. Lok and Sophie stood at the door.

"Zhalia, what do you do?" asked Dante.

"What do you think?" said Zhalia and closed her suitcase. "I'm going to save my daughter," she said and turned to Dante. He looked into her eyes, hate, sadness and despair. Dante was looking at her quite a long time before he realized that he also was not uninvolved in this whole situation.

"I'm coming with you." he said resolutely.

"Forget it." Zhalia said as she took her charms from the dresser.

"What's that supposed to mean? It is also my daughter, Zhalia." Dante said, offended.

"Pff. Who knows how many daughters you have on this planet." Zhalia said. It was an allusion to Hailey, the woman with whom Dante had cheated at Zhalia before their wedding. Dante angry went on to Zhalia and grabbed her arm. Zhalia then turned around and looked into the eyes of Dante. He was angry, but in this moment she could only recognize one: Sadness.

"Now listen to me carefully!" Dante began. "I cheated you once and I regret it deeply. The little girl is my daughter and I do not want anything happened to her, because I know exactly what it would break your heart and mine, too." Zhalia looked at Dante and realized he was serious. She looked to the ground. For the first time she thought about it. She hadn't told him that he was Violet's father for more then 2 years. He knew nothing about his daughter. What her name was, how old she was, what type of character she had. But however he wanted to save her.

"Violet." she said quietly. Dante looked at her confused.

"Violet?" he asked, confused.

"Her name is Violet." Zhalia looked at him. Tears came to her eyes again. She was afraid of losing her. She always wanted to protect her. She always wanted her to feel good. She always wanted to be a good mother. And now she had failed. Rassimov had taken the most valuable thing she had. Dante noticed that Zhalia was desperate. He pulled her into his arms. To his surprise, she let him. Zhalia rested her head on his chest and cried bitterly. Dante stroked her head and rocked her back and forth.

"We'll find her." he said again and again. "I'm here for you."

Zhalia broke away from the hug and smiled at Dante.

"Thanks." Dante smiled. "We'll save her." he said.

"And we will help you." Lok said. He and Sophie were still standing at the door and the two had watched them the whole time. Zhalia turned to them and also smiled at them tired. She was exhausted and completely finished. Slowly, she plopped down on a chair and rested her head on her hands. The others also went to the table and sat down on the free chairs.

"He will bring her to his residence at the other end of Ethiopia." Zhalia said after a while. The others stared at her.

"Do you know how we can get there?" Sophie asked hopefully.

"I was there for once so far, but I can still remember the way." she said. "It is a fairly long journey. We can take the camels. In 3 days we could have reached him." Zhalia stood up and pulled a map out of the dresser.

Then she sat back and rolled out the card in front of her friends. "This is the shortest way," she let her fingers run across the map. "At the second day we can stay at Addo's place, because we'll pass his village." She looked at the others and saw that they nodded approvingly.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning." Zhalia said and stood up. "You should go now."

Lok, Sophie and Dante stood up, too. Sophie went on to Zhalia and hugged her.

"See you tomorrow. Sleep well." she whispered in her ear. "And don't worry. We will find her."

Lok also hugged Zhalia and then disappeared with Sophie. Dante and Zhalia stood alone in the room. They were silent for a long time. It was an oppressive silence.

"I ... I will then follow them." Dante said, embarrassed.

"Do it", Zhalia said with a tired grin.

"Good. Then sleep well." said Dante and also went out. Zhalia plopped down on her bed. More tears were running down her face.

_9 hours later _

After a quiet short night Lok, Sophie and Dante were gone to the village. Zhalia stood in front of her hut. She was wearing short beige pants and a top and beige boots and a scarf, which were perfectly fitting her outfit. On her back she had a backpack and a sleeping bag. Dante was speechless when he saw her. She looked beautiful and sexy. Sophie went on to Zhalia and greeted her warmly, as well as Lok. Dante stopped in front of her and simply said hello.

"Are you sure that you want to come along. I mean, I can also... "

"Zhalia, we have already discussed that yesterday." Dante said with a charming grin. Zhalia nodded. Then she walked past the three and boarded one of the camels. She turned around again when she noticed that they were still standing there.

"Come here", she asked, smiling. Dante, Lok and Sophie looked at each other, but then followed her.

The team had to do a long marsh through the desert of Ethiopia.

Heat, hot sun and sand storms were on the agenda. It was exhausting. The sun was shining down on them relentlessly. Sand storms brought some problems, so they had to get down from the camels and went on by foot. Sophie stumbled during the sand storms, but Lok helped her up over and over again. Zhalia was very fast, so that she was much further forward than the others.

She was accustomed to it. After all she lived now for more than two years in the wilderness. Zhalia often turned to the others, so that she wouldn't lose them.

After a third sand storm and a ten-hour hike by foot, but also on the camel, the four decided to pitch their tents for the night. Sophie was relieved about it. She tied the camels to a small shrub and stacked the firewood Zhalia had been looking for. Lok and Dante took care of the tent. They only had taken one. There was enough space for everyone in it.

When all were finished with their tasks, they sat around the fire and ate a snack. It already began to dawn. Lok threw the food into himself, as if he had never had anything to eat before in his life.

"You have not really changed." Zhalia said and looked a bit shocked.

"Why?" Lok said with his mouth full. Zhalia began to laugh. Dante and Sophie could not resist her smile. Lok looked at the three offended. But soon he also laughed when he realized what they meant.

After everyone finished eating, they sat together batting in old memories.

After some time Sophie stood up. "I'm tired. I go to sleep." she said.

"Wait, I'll go with you. I'm tired, too." Lok said and they went in the tent.

Dante and Zhalia were alone. They sat together and watched the fire. Dante looked at Zhalia. He noticed that Violet looked just like her. Zhalia noticed Dante's view.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Nothing." Dante replied. "I've only just noticed that Violet is very much like you."

"You think? I actually think that she looks a lot like you. "

Dante smiled, Zhalia also had to smile. Then she was reminding something. She grabbed into her pants pocket and pulled out a photo and gave it to Dante. He looked at her quizzically.

"That's her and me. It was taken about 2 months ago." Dante looked at the photo. There was Zhalia with Violet in her arms on it. The little girl had a scarf on her head and pointed his finger towards the camera, while she laughed happily. Zhalia watched Violet and laughed as well. They looked happy and familiar. Dante looked at it for a long time and smiled.

"It's my favorite picture of us." said Zhalia when Dante gave it back to her and she put it back into her pants pocket.

"What is she like?" Dante asked, looking at Zhalia. Zhalia sighed and was thinking for a while.

"She is bubbly and alive. She laughs a lot and likes to play. She repeats everything you say. The total opposite of me." Zhalia told. Dante smiled. They were silent again.

"Did you know you were pregnant when you ran away back then?" Dante asked after some time. Zhalia shook her head. "I didn't knew it until I came to Ethiopia."

"Why didn't you tell me that I will become a father?" Dante asked, somehow sadly.

Zhalia looked to the ground. "I didn't even know if it's your child." answered Zhalia with a shamed voice. Dante looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I was so mad at you." Zhalia answered. "I got on the first plane to Ethiopia. I fled to Addo. He has comforted me and then it happened." Zhalia told, trying to hold back tears. Dante could not believe that she had slept with him. He was angry. But he knew he had no reason to. He was the one who had cheated Zhalia. Anyway it broke his heart to hear that Zhalia had slept with another man, because he still loved her.

"When the doctor told me that I was pregnant since two months, I knew that this child is yours, because at this time I just was with Addo since one month."

Dante was angry, disappointed and sad at the same time. But he was more angry to himself than to Zhalia.

"I'm sorry." Zhalia said and stood up. "I better go to sleep now." So she vanished in the tent, leaving Dante alone. He stared to the fire for a while and thought about the fact that tomorrow he would meet the man, who had "comforted" Zhalia. He already had a problem with that. Then he thought of Violet.

_His Violet._

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><p><strong> Sorry for the long wait.<strong>

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**Please review and tell us. **

**PiaNoir and MissParkerFan**


	5. Hate

_Chapter 5: Hate_

Dante was after a, for him very short night, already on its feet when the others slowly woke up. He could not sleep. Not only because he had beaten Lok constantly in his face and had tried to cuddle up to him, he also had to constantly think about Zhalia, Violet and Addo. He hated that Addo had slept with Zhalia, he also hated that he had almost been Violet's father. He hated Zhalia that she had admitted this thing with Addo. He hated everything and everyone, but most of all he hated himself. He hated himself for cheating Zhalia. He hated himself for that he had not stopped Zhalia at that time. He hated himself for that he had not been looking for her. And he hated himself for that he was not there for Violet. The little girl did not know him and for sure she didn't knew that she had a father. Furthermore Dante thought about the upcoming visit to Addo. And again he felt this hatred towards Addo. He felt like avoid Addo's village but Zhalia insisted on going there.

Dante was sitting in front of the camels, feeding them when Zhalia came to him.

"Are you ready? We want to go." she said with her hands in her pockets and looked at him. Dante looked up at her and realized again how beautiful she was. He smiled.

"Yes. For all I care, we can go." he replied when he stood up. Zhalia wanted to go when Dante held her. She turned around and looked into his eyes.

"Does she know it?" asked Dante.

"Who knows what?" replied Zhalia.

"Violet. Does she know that she has a father? "

Zhalia looked deep into Dante's eyes and could see his sadness. She began to smile.

"I very often told her about you." she finally said and for one moment she could see joy in his eyes.

Together they went back to Lok and Sophie, who were busy getting the last stuff in their backpacks.

"Can we go?" Sophie asked as she threw her backpack over her shoulders.

"I'm up for it, but when I look at Lok, I'm afraid we will never get away from here." Zhalia said, grinning. The other two looked down and saw how desperately Lok tried to put his blanket in a backpack. Dante and Sophie also started to grin.

"It's really nice to see that nothing has changed." said Zhalia and the others began to laugh. Lok looked up angrily.

"Haha, very funny. I could need some help here. " he said a bit offended.

Dante finally released him from the frantic attempt to get the blanket into the backpack and finally put it into his own backpack. Lok thanked him and short time later they were sitting on their camels.

_6 hours later_

The four had already covered about half the way without running into major difficulties. A couple of sandstorms but nothing more. They tried to move forward as fast as possible. Even if the heat got to them, they tried to make as few breaks as possible. They ate and drank during the ride. Lok often slept on his camel. He and Sophie were riding a little further back. Dante in the middle and Zhalia always forward. She knew the best way.

Dante rode behind her, drowned in thoughts. He thought about the fact that at first he didn't wanted to go on this mission, but if he hadn't gone he wouldn't know that he has a daughter. He wondered if Metz had known about this the whole time. Did he knew about Zhalia being in Ethiopia but didn't tell him anything about it? But Dante pushed the thought away. He couldn't put such a thing past Metz.

Sophie noticed that Dante was very thoughtful and decided to ride beside him.

"What's wrong?" asked Sophie.

"What should be wrong?" asked Dante a bit dazed, because Sophie had torn him from his thoughts.

"Could it be that you're trying to get out of Zhalia's way?" Sophie replied, watching Zhalia.

"No, why do you think so? I'm just tired. And furthermore I don't have ride next to her the whole time, right? "asked Dante a little bit angered.

"I'm sorry. I just thought." said Sophie and rode back to Lok, who has already threatened to fall from his camel.

Dante suddenly noticed that Zhalia rode in a huge dust cloud when he suddenly heard shots, not from a gun, but from spells. But he didn't know from where they came when Zhalia had been shot and fell from the camel. Dante jumped from his camel, just like Sophie and Lok, who woke up by the bang. Dante went to Zhalia, but she was already back on her feet and was ready to fight. She had called Caliban and looked in the direction from where the spell had come. When Dante had reached Zhalia there came more spells.

"Caliban." said Dante and the titan appeared. Lok and Sophie also called their titans.

The four stood in a row, waiting to be attacked again, but nothing happened.

"Maybe they fled?" said Lok. Sophie shrugged her shoulders.

"No. They are still here." whispered Zhalia. "I can feel their presence."

"They wait for the right moment." continued Dante and looked around again, but he couldn't see anything. The dust was too thick.

"You mean this one?" Zhalia suddenly said and turned around while she lifted her foot and kicked her attacker to the side. Immediately some other masked figures jumped to the team and attacked them. Without much problems they defeated their titans and then took care of them. There were seven attackers. Dante, Lok and Sophie in each case took care of two while Zhalia took care of the last one.

"I have to give you that from Rassimov." the masked man said to Zhalia. She could hear his grin in the sentence. The man shot a spell on Zhalia, whereupon she was thrown through the air and rudely slammed to the ground.

Suddenly the men and the dust cloud disappeared.

Dante went to Zhalia, who had already sad up.

"Everything alright?" he asked when he knelt down to her. She had her right hand clenched into a fist. Lok and Sophie also came running up to them.

Zhalia slowly opened her hand. Everyone was terrified because of her palm. There was a black mark on it.

"Two days." they heard Rassimov's voice whispering and the mark disappeared. Everyone looked at each other questioningly and anxious.

"What was that?" said Lok, who still looked shocked at Zhalia's hand.

"I have no idea." Zhalia said and opened and closed her hand again and again. "I only know that we need to get to Addo as fast as possible." she said as she stood up. Dante rolled his eyes. "We have to hide at his place for the night. It is too dangerous to spend the night outside. "

Zhalia went back to her camel and boarded it again. Lok and Sophie followed her. Dante just slowly found his way back to his camel.

He hated this plan.

_2 hours later_

They came to Addo's village. They rode through the streets and straight to Addo's house. Addo was standing in his yard and saw from afar who came to visit him. He smiled and waved to Zhalia, but when he saw who was behind her, he stopped doing this.

When Zhalia came to Addo's court she got off her camel and hugged him warmly.

"Hello Zhalia. Glad you're here again " he said as he looked at her face. He noted that she tried to smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Suddenly he noticed something. "Where's Violet?" he asked, startled, and saw that Zhalia fought back tears.

"That's why we're here. Rassimov has kidnapped her." Zhalia answered and began to cry. Addo took her in his arms and tried to calm her down. His gaze fell over her shoulder to Lok, Sophie and Dante. Addo looked at him angrily and Dante noticed that. He narrowed his eyes and looked darkly at Addo. He hated him.

Zhalia detached himself from the embrace. "Can we stay with you for one night?" asked Zhalia while she wiped the tears from her face.

"Of course, come in. I made tea." he replied and walked into the house with Zhalia. He threw one more glance back and showed the other with a nod that they should follow them.

_30 minutes later_

Dante, Lok and Sophie sat in the living room while Addo and Zhalia prepared the dinner in the kitchen.

"So you two are back together?" Addo said as he rubbed the bread. Zhalia looked at him as if he were mad.

"No. Why do you think so? "

"Well. He is here and you're looking for your daughter together. "Addo said.

"Yes, yes, but we're not together."

"He knows that she is his daughter, right?" he asked, putting the knife aside.

"Yes he does." Zhalia said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"How did he react?" Addo looked at her quizzically.

"What do you think? How would you react if your ex-fiancee after 2 years screams into your face that your biggest enemy had kidnapped your daughter, who didn't know until this time!", she replied a little louder.

"You yelled at him?" Addo said with a grin.

"This is not funny."

"I'm sorry. I just have the feeling that he still loves you. "Addo said and looked at the floor.

"Why?" asked Zhalia irritated.

"The way he looks at you. How he cares about Violet. The way he looked when I was hugging you. I am quite sure that he still loves you. "

Zhalia looked at the floor and started thinking. Was it really possible that he still loved her? Did she love him? Zhalia shook her head. No. He had betrayed her. She couldn't still love him. End. Done. Off. Or perhaps …

After dinner Lok and Sophie have been pretty tired and had gone to bed. Dante had also gone to his room. And Zhalia had decided to take a bath. She hadn't made the tub too full. She lay on her stomach. Her back and butt were sticking out of the water and her hair was wet. She carried her head with her hands.

Thoughtfully, she stared straight ahead. She thought about much. About herself. About Dante. But most of all about Violet. She was so worried about the little girl. How she did she feel right now? An icecold shiver went down her back.

Suddenly the door opened and Dante came in, but when he saw Zhalia naked in the bath tub, he stopped. Zhalia did nothing, instead she just looked at him.

"I ... I ... just wanted to brush my teeth ..." he stammered around. "But ... this ... I do prefer when you're done." he said and was just about to turn around, as Zhalia stopped him.

"No, no. Go ahead. It is not the first time you see me naked." she replied. Dante looked at her a little bit shocked, but then went to the sink and started brushing his teeth. Again and again he looked at her through the mirror. She was just too good. Just damn sexy.

When Dante was finished, he wanted to go out, but he decided otherwise. He walked over to the tub and sat down in front of it. Then he put his arms on the rim and his chin on them. They were looking in each other's eyes for a long time. It was strange how close they were, but for some reason not a bit complicated.

"You're beautiful." Dante said after a while. Zhalia looked at him with a straight face.

"We will find her." said Dante. "I hope so." retorted Zhalia and again they looked at each other very long and intense. But this time something happened which no one would have expected. Their heads approximated slowly. They could feel the breath of each other. Their lips touched gently all over and later shared a passionate kiss. Dante could not believe it. He kissed her and she kissed him. Zhalia was also overwhelmed by this feeling, but noticed that it was wrong. They quickly broke the kiss and turned away.

"You should go now." she said softly.

"Maybe you're right." muttered Dante, who was still overwhelmed by what had just happened. He got up and left then.

Zhalia remained. She could not love him. He had hurt her once before. She didn't wanted to get hurt again.

She hated him ...

**PiaNor and MissParkerFan **


	6. She don't want to fall in love

_Chapter 6: She don't want to fall in love _

Dante, Zhalia, Lok and Sophie were sitting after a relaxing and long night with Addo at the table to eat breakfast. Their mood was relative relaxed. Lok and Sophie were talking much while the others listened to them excited. Now and then they laughed a bit. Somethimes Dante was looking to Zhalia. But she tried to ignore him as good as possible. She didn't wanted to fall in love. She didn't wanted to think about the kiss between them. She just wanted to think about their mission. Their mission to save Violet.

When everyone was done with eating, Addo accompanied them to their camels.

"Good luck." he said to Zhalia and hugged her, "I know you'll find her."

"Thank you, Addo." answered Zhalia and withdrew from the embrace. "We will contact you as soon as we found her." Zhalia smiled wearily and then went to her camel to climb on it. Lok and Sophie were also sitting on their camels, only Dante wasn't.

"Hey Dante. What's wrong? "asked Lok and looked at his mentor.

"Go on. I've forgotten something. I'll follow you then." Dante shouted. Lok looked at Sophie, who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, but hurry!" said Lok and rode on with Sophie and Zhalia.

Dante turned around, because he had to go back into the house. He had forgotten his bag.

But when he turned around, Addo was already behind him and was holding the bag in front of his face.

"Thanks?" Dante said a little irritated and took the bag.

"I particularly don't like you." was Addo's answer, when Dante took the bag.

Dante observed Addo with narrowed eyes. Should he tell him that he felt the same way? Or should he just get on his camel and ride on? He could also beat him for 'comforting' Zhalia.

"You have cheated on Zhalia." began Addo. Dante clenched his hands to fists. He had to control himself, so he didn't hit him in the face. He hated it so much when someone kept this fact into his mind.

"And you have a daughter with her, what makes us two completely different people." continued Addo. Dante looked at him angrily. What did he wanted to say?

"But anyway we have one thing in common. We both love Zhalia and only want the best for her. "

"What do you want from me, Addo?"

"I just want to open your eyes." Addo said and beat gently on Dante's shoulder. "Damn Dante. Zhalia loves you and you love her. You have a daughter with her. "

"What's your point?" Dante asked, eyeing him.

"Dante, go and bring back your family." Addo said, placing his hand on Dante's shoulder. He had not expected something like that.

His rival had just advised him to get back the woman he loved by himself? Dante could not understand it, but he began to smile.

"Thanks." he said and got on his camel.

"Oh yes and another thing." Addo said, "If you should hurt her again, I'll come over to you and kick you in the crotch." Addo smiled at this statement.

"Don't worry. I will not make that mistake twice." Dante smiled and rode away.

_3 hours later _

The team had come very far. They had left Addo's village behind and were then ridden into the direction of Rassimov's castle. They had no problems on their trip. No sand storms and no further attacks.

This time Lok and Sophie were riding ahead. Zhalia was the very last. She was drowned in thoughts.

She thought about her kiss with Dante and the time before he had cheated at her. The kiss was so intense last night and was full of emotion. She felt him still so much on her lips, as if no time had passed. His gentle lips on hers and how they shared that kiss. So wonderful and ...

_STOP!_ She shouted in her mind. _NO! NO! NO! You're not going to fall in love. Not with him._, she told herself over and over again. She just don't wanted to fall in love. She didn't wanted to get hurt. She didn't wanted to cry because of a man anymore. Her decision was clear: No Dante! No love! Getting rid of!

Dante noticed that Zhalia fell more and more back and was worried. Therefore, he turned around and rode to her side. Zhalia stared at the head of her camel.

"Zhalia? Is everything okay?" Dante asked, worried. Zhalia startled and lifted her head quickly. She looked exactly into Dante's beautiful brown eyes. They were shining into her direction. Beautiful. Beautiful. Wonder... _NO! DO NOT FALL IN LOVE!_

"Zhalia?" said Dante, and tore her from her thoughts.

"What? What's wrong? "she asked totally confused.

"Is everything allright?" asked Dante.

"Yes. I'm doing great. "answered Zhalia and stared at the animal's head.

"Are you sure?"

Zhalia nodded. She didn't wanted to look at him. She didn't wanted to fall in love. Or did she already have? _No! _

After a very long time in which the two were riding together in silence, Dante summarized his courage to talk to Zhalia about the kiss.

"Zhalia?"

"Hmm." she replied, raising her head. Then let it fall back down immediately.

"The kiss yesterday. So ... well ...", stammered Dante. Zhalia bit her lower lip. She didn't wanted to talk about it. She just wanted to forget, displace, do not remember.

"I ... I .. I do not know." Dante was still searching for the right words.

"Zhalia ... I wanted to tell you that .." said Dante but was suddenly interrupted by Lok and Sophie, who shouted from the front.

"Here it is," said Sophie.

"Rassimov's palace." added Lok.

_Thank God._, Zhalia thought and turned to Dante.

"We should hurry." she said and drove to her camel. She rode ahead of Dante.

He sadly sighed and drove his camel as well. Soon the two reached Lok and Sophie, and could also see Rassimov's castle. It lay in a valley. The four just look at it, because they were on a nearby sand hill. Rassimov's castle was big. The facade was black as the night or Rassimov's soul. It stood in the middle of the desert. It looked fake and creepy.

The four long looked at the castle.

"We should not waste any more time." Sophie said, looking at the others.

"Sophie is right." assented Lok.

"Okey. We ride as close as we can." Zhalia said. "We let the camels stay here and I go inside. You wait here for me. "

"No." chimed in Dante. "Far too dangerous. You're not going alone. "

"Yes I will. Rassimov don't want to fight. "

"Oh no, then what does he want?" Dante asked, somehow annoyed.

"I know exactly what he wants but I won't tell you." Zhalia answered and Dante looked at her. Then she turned and rode away.

"Stubborn." muttered Dante. Lok laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You know her." He said, smiling.

"Yes." Dante growled.

Then the three followed Zhalia.

**PiaNoir and MissParkerFan **


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